All the King's Horses
by ye'oldsoomin
Summary: Continuation from chained-to-a-kiwi fic. What's the difference between a Hollow and a Nobody? Sora's mind looks strangely like The World That Never Was. Meanwhile, Roxas wakes up in a sideways world, and it's not Wonderland. Bleach xover
1. The Anti

All the King's Horses

Chapter 4: The Anti-

* * *

"The DTD?" Kairi and Riku asked.

His majesty looked at them with confusion before realizing the purpose of their confusion.

"Yes, the Door to Darkness, or DTD for short. I'm guessing that Sora didn't explain it to you. It's a computer in Hollow Bastion that was Ansem the Wise used while he was still the king there. At first, the MCP used it for evil purposes, but Sora destroyed the MCP and now it can be used for researching purposes," Mickey explained.

Riku sighed in disbelief that Sora had forgotten that detail in his story.

"Just recently, I've been using the DTD to create a universal wide monitor to inspect the darkness levels in the worlds. This way, I can eliminate any enemies that might become something like Xehanort's heartless."

Both Kairi and Riku nodded and waited for the King to go on.

"Over time, however, the darkness in Twilight Town has increased rapidly. When I sent you the letter, I was hoping you could help me with this problem. If everything would have gone to plan, then we would have been going to Twilight Town to seal the Keyhole. But since the Keyblade Master himself isn't here and we don't know where he is, the plans conflict with each other," he sighed.

Silence filled the room as the group let the information sink into their heads. Riku and Kairi were in tough positions. They could look for their friend, or save Twilight Town and then look for Sora. It was a hard decision and it will definitely involve heavy thinking.

"Your Majesty! The coordinates are right now being installed in the Gummi Ship. Everything should be ready by dawn tomorrow. We suggest you get a night's rest by then!" two squeaky voice's announced.

Heads turned behind them as two chipmunks began to walk up to the group. The King smiled and thanked them for their hard work. They smiled at the compliment and began to walk back to the hanger.

"Welp', you heard them. We should all rest for now. Tomorrow we'll decide what to do and how we'll do it," he suggested and walked off to his bedroom.

"Donald, Goofy, you should do the same." he demanded as he walked.

As the knight and wizard followed the mouse king, Riku wondered if this was all he had to say. He knew the King would never lie, but there was something he knew he wasn't telling them.

"Riku," Kairi called, interrupting Riku's train of thought. "What do you think we should do?"

The silverette sighed as he thought of what to say.

"Right now, I think we should just wait and rest. We don't know what'll happen tomorrow or the next day or the day after that. All I do know is that Sora can take care of himself for at least another day," Riku answered and walked to the guest room.

Kairi, a little comforted from the statement, exhaled and followed her friend out the door.

* * *

"Well based on that reaction, I would think the answer would be no," Kisuke assumed. Ichigo and Sora looked at the man, wanting to know answers.

"This is all very interesting, especially from you, Sora-kun," he smiled with interest. Sora was very creped out by the man while Ichigo growled angrily at him.

"Urahara, what happened?" he yelled.

The blond pulled out his fan over his face and smiled, "I don't know!"

The answer was rewarded with a punch in the face by the very irritated substitute Soul Reaper.

While the shop manager recovered from his nose bleed, Yoruichi began to explain.

"What Kisuke means to say is, that a lot of things could have happened. From what Sora said, these 'Nobodies' could be with Aizen. And that could bring all sorts of trouble," she explained.

"If they are with Aizen, then for all we know is that the powder was to poison Ichigo," the white haired captain said.

"Not quite," the manager responded. Sora was amazed at the recovery speed of the people of this world and wonder what would have happen if the man was actually hurt.

"From what I've gathered, the powder seemed to separate the inner personality and the outer personality apart. This would mean that both Ichigo and his Hollow are existing as separate entities. Now why Sora was so surprised of this is a mystery to me, but as of now Ichigo's Hollow is out there in Karakura town doing whatever he pleases."

Eyes were then pointed at Sora. This boy was of mystery and it was time they get some answers from him. Said boy was currently looking down, avoiding all eye contact as much as he could.

"Um, well, I see, and um," he began, being crushed by the reiatsu from everyone. When the Soul Reapers saw the brunette in discomfort, they decided to relax and wait for his answer.

"Back during my first journey, I became a heartless trying to save my friends. I turned back into a human, but that doesn't fix that something else was made. While I was a heartless, I guess a Nobody was formed. I didn't notice, but out there, he was living a life with no memories or purpose. He joined Organization XIII but after a year, he ran away.

"I was in a capsule because my memories were erased and were being put back. But I had to go to sleep during it. Then, something happened and I couldn't wake up without my Nobody. So after he ran away, he was caught and soon became part of me," Sora explained and saw Rukia busily scribbling what he had just said. Everyone else stayed quiet, trying to understand what he had just said.

Urahara, however, smiled at the explanation and brought out two soul candy dispensers. Both were shaped in form of a rabbit.

"Based on what our Hobo friend had just said," began Urahara, earning looks from Sora, "A Nobody to him is what a Hollow is to us. Then this new product should work perfectly fine!"

Sora saw Ichigo's wary look, and began to worry about what it might entail.

"It seems like the powder divided both of you in half. This pill will reunite the nearest half to the other. The problem is, that the distance between you and your half is must be very close. Remember, you only have one shot too. This will take precise planning," he explained and tossed the dispensers towards the teens.

"So this is going to put the other half of us together?" Ichigo asked, examining the pill.

"Exactly!"

Sora thought about the medicine, and it seemed like it would work. The problem was, he hadn't left off with Roxas on good terms and it didn't seem like Ichigo did either with his Hollow. This will probably lead into fighting when they meet.

"Well then, we should start off planning. Ichigo, Sora, I suggest that you go on and continue what little of a normal life you have until we can figure out a plan. For now, just a keep an eye on your other half. And if you see any suspicious figures, get them out as soon as you can. We can't have Aizen be siding with your Hollow, Ichigo. Who knows what he could do if he does!" Urahara exclaimed.

"But I'm worried what he's doing at this moment," Yoruichi whispered.

* * *

It was an odd sight.

An albino and a spiky blond sitting at a café enjoying a nice day with ice tea. Or at least that what it seemed. Both were sending death glares at each other hoping the other would die a fiery death.

"…"

"…"

They weren't very talkative either.

Just when it seemed like their eyes would give out, the albino began to speak.

"So wimp, what happened? Is there any time limit we can stay out here, or what?" he asked.

The blond, who was recovering from the death stare match, answered, "Well, we've been staring for at least an hour and nothing seemed to happen. So I'm guessing a no on the time limit. As for what happened, I don't know. The only way we could know if someone had seen it. And we seem to be running from the only witnesses who did see it and not think we're crazy, we really can't find the answer. And my name is Roxas, not wimp."

"No time limit eh," the albino smiled as he sat from his seat and began to walk to an empty park.

"H-Hey, wait!" Roxas yelled after paying the bill.

When he arrived, he watched in awe as the albino began to destroy all things possible with his sword. He fired blasts of energy and created craters on the ground. And somewhere deep inside, Roxas knew that this was just a warm up.

The sun began to set when the albino stopped his havoc.

"Haven't have this much fun for a long time," he smiled sitting himself next to Roxas, feeling better after his obliterating the park.

"So you don't have a real body either then," Roxas reasoned while watching the sun set.

"I don't have a heart either. Don't want one. Thought it might help with this empty feeling," the albino added. "It's not a good feeling. I hate it."

"I hate it too," whispered Roxas quietly, "I hate it… but I can't hate him. Being empty, always hungering for something and never feeling full... It's worse then being dead."

"Not sure about the dead part, but yeah I guess that's what I mean."

The sun setting seemed to calm both of them as they talked.

"Che. I'm getting soft. I need a fight soon," the bleached man complained.

"Hey, what is this place anyway?" Roxas asked. It began to bother him that he didn't ask the question sooner.

Gold eyes stared at him in disbelief. His mouth grew into a smile as he stared at the teen.

"'This place'? You really aren't from this world like Zangetsu said. Fine, I'll explain, but only once."

"Here in Karakura town, there are three people you need to know. Human, Hollows, and Soul Reapers. Humans are harmless. Hollows are what you and I are. And Soul Reapers are what will try to kill us. All you need to do is use your instinct to survive. King or Ichigo will try to kill us. Stay away from anyone who looks human but holds a sword. Oh your king, Sora or whatever, will try to kill us too probably." the Hollow explained.

Blue eyes slowly brighten as he heard more and more of the explanation. And he thought his world was crazy. This was just a wild goose chase.

"So I guess Ichigo is your other?" he asked.

"Other? I guess, but he's more like the king. He's in control of the body and doesn't feel like sharing with me," he complained, "Doesn't even bother to give me a name." He began to glare at the blond Nobody in jealousy.

The blonde Nobody shuffled as he avoided the other's gaze. "If Ichigo won't give you a name, then pick one for yourself."

Silence stretched as Ichigo's Hollow stared incredulously, eyebrows lifting into his hairline as Roxas glared mutinously back and crossed his arms. Suddenly, the Hollow threw his head back and laughed, high-pitched and cackling.

"..._Che_," it cursed, still snickering. "Whatever. But I ain't pickin' a name with a goddamn 'x' in it."

"No one said you had to," Roxas grumbled defensively, glaring even harder.

The bleached figure smirked knowingly. "I ain't makin' some stupid anagram neither-"

"_Just__pick__something__would__you__!_"

"Eh, hold your horses. Let's see… It pondered quietly for a while. Opening his mouth to say something but then hesitantly closed it. It was about three more minutes of irritation from Roxas before he proclaimed his new name.

"How bout Kagetsu, it has a nice ring to it. And it's no sissy strawberry name either like Ichigo." he spat out.

"What does it mean?"

"Moon's shadow," he laughed, seeing the irony in it.

"You're weird," the blond confirmed, looking back at the sunset.

"Better than your name. Sky scrambled around with an 'x', like that has any meaning!" the newly named Kagetsu argued.

"Moon's shadow! And I thought you wanted to throw away all connections to your king. I'm pretty sure that would mean your sword," the blond yelled.

People walked by, watching the two argue till night fell. Some tried to break them up, but then they saw the mess the bleached man caused and reasoned to stay away.

"People are getting dumber everyday," a certain boy said as he walked by the continued arguing of the two teens. He adjusted his glasses as he walked on his own to his father's hospital.

"Their stupidity almost matched Kurosaki's," he whispered to himself.


	2. A Hostage to Fortune

"And don't forget to-"

"Donald, I get it! I'm not as a bad driver as Sora. Trust me on this," Riku assured him for what seemed like the millionth time.

The red headed princess giggled as the two argued while she boarded the ship. The group had just decided to split up as evenly as they could to go to both the new world and Twilight Town.

_Flashback_

_Two teens walked tiredly into the throne room with packs of supplies in hand. The King himself along with his friends were already prepared for the journey. Riku had an argument prepared if they decided not to listen to him. Before the two went to bed, they decided that finding Sora was the most important things at that point. _

"_Riku, Kairi, I have some urgent news," his majesty announced, "The darkness that had moved from Twilight Town has been located in another world. It has come to my attention that both rescuing Twilight Town and destroying the darkness have both become problematic." _

"_I've decided that we'll split into two groups. Kairi, Riku, you should both explore the worlds. As us three will go and seal the Key Hole in Twilight Town."_

_The red head looked at Riku who was wearing a broad smile on his face. Both knew that there was a chance their happy-go-lucky friend would be there. They both knew Sora had a tendency to be where the action is. They just hoped this characteristic would stay true._

"_We accept," both said in unison._

_End Flashback_

As the two childhood friends began to set coordinates in for the new world, they wondered, hoped that Sora was actually there on that world.

"It's going to be a long trip," Riku blurted suddenly.

"Really? Can't we just warp?" Kairi asked.

"No, but we can stop world to world to rest and see if Sora landed on those worlds recently," the silverette answered. "at least it's a start."

The conversation soon ended and both focused more towards finding their lost friend.

"_Sora, we will find you," _Both thought in there own way.

* * *

Karakura High School has never had a quiet morning. This day will be no different.

"GOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING ICHIGO!" a brunette student suddenly yelled with his eyes bursting with tears. The student was rewarded a punch in the face from said friend for his efforts.

"Morning Keigo," Ichigo greeted and looked over his shoulder noticing that something; or more so, a someone, was missing.

"Hey, you can follow. Nothing other than Keigo here, and he's not that dangerous, just annoying," the teen yelled across the hall ignoring the complain the got from his friend of the floor.

As his friend recovered from the severe injury, Keigo saw that a bush of brown hair began to walk down the hall uncomfortably in a standard school uniform, tan pants and a neat tan jacket to match. Being Keigo, he immediately saw this boy as a threat to his and Ichigo's friendship.

"Ichigo! Have you made friends over the weekend without telling me! How dare you! You and I have become so distant! Why! Oh why!" he cried as tears rained dramatically on the floor. He began to ran away before spotting Chad and decided to tell him the news also.

"Um, Is he alright?" Sora asked, pulling at the school uniform and continually shuffling his feet.

"He's always like that," Ichigo responded nonchalantly and headed into his homeroom with the brunette following him.

But upon entering, girls surrounded him from all angles. Each had a small twinkle in their eyes with numerous questions being thrown at him.

_Jeez, why did I ever agree to this? _

"Ichigo, is that your friend?" a raven haired girl asked. He turned around to see his friend Tatsuki with a concerned look on her face.

"Yeah," he answered as the two of them watched helplessly as Sora was bombarded with questions concerning about his social status.

After two minuets of the series of questioning, Ichigo's friend couldn't take it anymore. She dove into the crowd and dragged the teen out of the girls' grasp.

"Hey, are you alright? They didn't hurt you or anything, did they?" she asked. Sora began to stand back up and dusted off any imaginary dirt the girls might have gotten on him while trying to defend himself.

"Yeah, and thanks, an by the way. I'm Sora," he smiled and extending a hand.

"Tatsuki Arisawa. Second strongest girl in Japan," she gloated and waited for Sora's response.

Sora raised an eyebrow at this, but saw Ichigo giving him signs not to say anything about it that might insult her.

"Cool," the brunette simply said and tried to walk back towards Ichigo. It was safe to say that was a failure.

"Sado! Get him!" someone yelled from behind. For a moment, the brunette had thought another one of the girls had issued the order but thought otherwise when he processed the voice as male. The voice was very familiar to Sora, but he couldn't place where he heard it. But when he turned around to see who had yelled he was met with an eight foot student looming over him in a seemingly threatening stance.

"Um,…" was all what the Keyblade Master could say.

"Relax, it's only Chad. He won't hurt you unless you hurt him or any of us," Ichigo assured and it allowed Sado to relax a little.

"You're… Ichigo's friend?" he asked in his deep voice. It was slow and to some a little terrifying, but compassion was somewhere hidden in there.

Sora nodded and slowly walked away from the giant. He saw that behind him were two more students. One was Keigo, the boy he met in the halls on the floor, and some other boy holding a phone.

"Morning Ichigo," the cell phone boy greeted calmly and walked by Sora as if Sora had always been part of the group.

"Morning Mizuiro," the teen replied back.

"Psst, Ichigo, who's the kid?" Keigo asked.

"A family friend. He's going to be here a few months, so get used to him," he answered, slightly annoyed by all his friend's nosy behavior. He hated lying.

Mizuiro looked up from his phone and walked over to Sora with a hand extended. He smiled as he introduced himself, "I'm Miziro Kojima. Nice to meet you."

"Sora," the brunette answered back.

"I presume you know about Mr. Asano over there and this is Sado Yasadora. Keigo is nice and is, well, I'm sure you know about now. Sado over there is quiet, but a really good friend. They're both better people than I am," Mizuiro introduced. Sora assumed that Mizuiro was really used to have to introduce people by the way he talked about them.

"So, Sora, where do you come from?" Tatsuki asked.

"Hawaii," he replied, remembering what Ichigo had told him the day before.

"Oh, I've been there myself a couple times. What island are you from?" Mizuiro commented. This soon resulted in a conversation leaving Sado and Ichigo out.

The two friends stayed in silence watching them until Sado spoke.

"Ichigo, who is he really?" he inquired inconspicuously.

"He's, uh.. I'll tell you later. He's different, but he's on our side. Just try not to question him too much," Ichigo answered and left it at that.

It was then when Ichigo noticed that someone was not present with Tatsuki.

"Where's Orihime?"

"She's sick today. I came by her house this morning and she said she couldn't come because of a nasty fever. It was strange though. It was almost like the life was draining from her. She was practically asleep when she answered the door," Tatsuki answered.

Sora looked up from the conversation to think about what she had just said. It sounded a lot like what happened to Kairi in the cave unnervingly so.

"If she's sick, then she should get plenty of rest. It was a wise decision on her part, " a voice from behind reminded the group.

"Nice to see that you're all cheerful Uryu," Ichigo muttered as the navy haired teen approached.

"Good to see you to Kurosaki. And I see you brought a friend," he observed.

"I'm Sora," the brunette said smiling.

"Ishida Uryu. Say, do you have a brother?" he asked suddenly.

"What?"

"A twin perhaps?"

"Uh, oh yeah! Short, blue eyes, spiky blond hair? He's um, sick today too, so he couldn't come." Sora thought on the fly, had he seen Roxas? "There must be a flu spreading or something! Heh." Sora lied lamely. If he was lucky, this could lead to finding Roxas and hopefully Ichigo's Hollow.

"That would make sense, thought I don't see how it could be your brother," Ishida concluded.

"Why not?"

"Because I saw a person with that description walking downtown with a bag full of apples in full health this morning," he answered.

"Sora, you have a twin! That's so- Where he go? Where did Ichigo go too?" Keigo exclaimed as when he looked behind him they were both gone.

Sado, knowing batter, watched from the window watching his friends running towards downtown. Ichigo in his shinigami wardrobe and Sora with a weapon looking oddly like a key over his shoulder.

"How strange. It seems every time we see them, they get stranger habits and leave. It must be you that's affecting them," Mizuiro accusingly said to Keigo who cried at the insult.

* * *

"Fix your stance. You'll never win if you keep that up!"

"Tell me that after you hit me first!"

"Already did." Roxas was then suddenly knocked onto the ground and a boasting Kagetsu standing over him.

Another win for Kagetsu making the score eight to two. Of course this was a non lethal win for him. What good would a sparing partner be if he was dead?

But mid swing a sudden craving came upon Kagetsu.

"Hey Roxas, I'm hungry," he spoke suddenly.

"Good for you. Go eat some souls like a good Hollow should," the blond said dryly while dusting himself off, obviously not liking where the conversation was heading.

"Nah, I think you should just buy some more apples," the albino suggested and tossed the Nobody money.

"Where did you get this from?"

"A guy lent it to me,"

"Yeah, and did a girl ask you out for a date while he gave it to you?"

"I don't think I have to remind you the winner of our sparring matches," he threatened and Roxas began to walk away snickering.

In the blond's mind, he went over the descriptions of people he should keep a clear view away from. A midget black haired girl, a bald guy with a battle obsession, a guy with a beauty complex, a red pineapple, a short midget with white hair, and a busty women who can drink her own weight in sake. The odd list went on.

To Roxas, he thought it wouldn't be hard to avoid people with such features, but Kagetsu warned against it and told him not to be arrogant when he walked around town.

Speaking of town, it never ceased to amaze him that Karakura Town felt so much like Twilight Town. The only difference was the sky was actually blue for once and you could actually tell what time it was.

"Hey Mister, are you there? I'd like five pounds of apples!" Roxas yelled through the market. A old man appeared, gratefully smiling.

"Here again? And I thought you wouldn't come for another week with all those apples you bought yesterday," the old man joked.

The two chatted for a bit before Roxas left the store with a fresh bag full of apples. Roxas couldn't help but feel like the teenager he should be here.

Halfway there, the crowd seemed to get larger and larger making room smaller. It was only time when Roxas would get bumped and thus dropping a few of the red fruits.

"I'm sorry," the teen muttered and helped gather the apples and walked away to where Roxas presumed was school.

The teen had navy hair and glasses that seemed to never fit. He had a white uniform and the blond could see a sewing kit in his backpack. That kid alone confirmed that every student in this town was strange.

Five minuets later and Roxas reached the forest and their hideout. Kagetsu lazily watched the clouds as he came in.

"Got your apples," Roxas announced and dropped in front of the unusually calm Hollow. He quickly turned away, not wanting to watch as his "friend" gobbled each apples with loud slurps and crunches.

"How are apples that good? I mean, they're just apples," Roxas asked.

"Not sure, but they sure beat any other fruits!" Kagetsu laughed and near unwearyingly tossed an apple to the blond Nobody.

"Catch!"

The Keyblade wielder turned around to catch the red fruit and examined it. It was just an ordinary apple.

"Have you even ate any other fruit the appels?" The blond asked. He hadn't recalled getting anything else.

"Not really, but I just know apples are the best fruit," the albino answered and ate the last apple.

"Instinct, right?" Roxas snorted and began to eat his apple.

It was an odd sight, but it was one seen often. When they weren't sparring, they more often talking about trivial things which often resulted in another sparring match. Roxas wouldn't have guessed that the Nobody and the Hollow were so similar in personality. But he tried not to think to much on that as it led to more depressing things.

"Hey, you should know that it's my inst-"

"There you are!" Two voices cut in.

Both Kagetsu and Roxas looked at the source at the interruption to see their other half standing in front of them.

"Well, well, well, looks like the Kings have come to regain their horses," the albino joked and grabbed his sword. Roxas remained motionless.

The "Kings" also took out their weapons and took a battle stance. They were faced with their respective other half's.

Blue was matched with blue while gold matched with amber. Roxas tentatively took out his key blade's ready to fight, but hesitated, unsure with himself if he should even fight. In the back of his mind, he knew that they had some kind of plan to bring them back to their inner world and keep them locked for good.

For a moment, no one moved, as if giving a prayer before a bloody war. And while Roxas was stuck in turmoil, the hollow had his own idea. And in a sudden movement, The Hollow ran in blinding speed and attacked Sora. Ichigo knew all his moves, the same for Sora and Roxas, so a switch was in order.

Roxas, on reflex of seeing what his partner was doing, ran forward while Ichigo was in a daze from trying to comprehend the sudden change, and attempted to attack.

The substitute shinigami though, was fast and quickly dodged the attack. Roxas, once again ran forward. Ichigo crouched, preparing for another block, but Roxas disappeared from his line of sight and attacked him from behind.

"Ichigo!" Sora yelled, but was soon silenced by a Getsuga Tensho.

"I'm your opponent pipsqueak! You can't waste time worrying about that royal pain over there!" the Hollow yelled as he viciously charged in again.

The Nobody stared in confusion. This carrot top was supposed to be Kagetsu's other half? This was Ichigo Kurosaki? He was so weak in comparison of his Hallow. He even landed a hit on him, something the blond hardly ever got the chance of doing during his and Kagetsu's little matches. Roxas shook away the thought. He was warned not to become arrogant when fighting.

_But it couldn't hurt to taunt. _Roxas thought, why not take a page from the hollow?

"Hey! Mr. Strawberry! I'm right here you know. Already, you're down and I'm still in tip-top shape. For being Kagestsu's other half, you sure are weak." Roxas smiled and watched as Ichigo began to stand up. Switching opponents was turning out to be a good idea, seeing as he had the upper hand agents him.

"Shut up," Ichigo fumed. It seamed Roxas' taunt hit a nerve.

"Excuse me? Could you say that again?" He criticized, nonchalantly cleaning his ear out with his pinky in a mocking manner. Maybe Kagetsu was rubbing off on him.

"Getsuga Tensho!" he yelled and let out a wave of energy. Roxas easily dodged it but was surprised when Ichigo suddenly appeared behind _him_and attacked.

In the corner of Ichigo's eye, he could see his Hollow frown in anger and began to run towards Ichigo. "Teh, damn brat!" Sora chased after him, but was stopped by Roxas.

The white Zangetsu clashed with Ichigo's black one and the two jumped back.

"You fake! For someone who worries in becoming someone like me, you sure copy me a lot!" the albino growled and began to charge again.

Roxas readied his key blades panting lightly from the previous fight. While Sora, who was already tired from his match from Kagetsu, flew forward in attack though slightly weakened and relied more on using magic.

Both Ichigo and Sora knew they weren't going to get anywhere with the fight and it looked like Roxas and the Hollow weren't going to run like they had thought. So Ichigo called out to Sora and they drew back together signaling as there targets drew in after them.

_One…_

_Two…_

_Three…_

Both swallowed the pill and a bright light evaporated any sort of sight from their eyes. The Hallow cursed loudly but as fast as it happened the light disappeared to reveal that only two beings remained.

Though slightly dazed, Ichigo scanned the area and confirmed that they were the only ones there. Mission accomplished. But when he set his eyes on Sora he looked a little dizzy.

"Ichigo, do you feel like.. something isn't right?" Sora asked slowly. The younger boy began to scan himself up and down to make sure he wasn't just imagining the feeling.

Ichigo felt it too. He felt whole, but not the wholeness he was used to.

"Hmm, we should go report to Hats and Clogs, he'll have some answers," Ichigo responded. Sora nodded and they began to make their way there.


	3. Kings and Horses

Chapter 6: A Shaken Throne

* * *

"Well if it isn't Ichigo himself!" the familiar ex-captain smiled as his favorite guests arrived to his shop. "And Mr. Hobo too? It's such a pleasure to see you both in one piece again!" the greeting earned him a whack in the head by the least likely of people, Sora.

"I'm not a hobo!" the brunette growled, fuming, but as suddenly as it came he realized his actions and immediately apologized to the shop manger. Then inquiring if he was hurt anywhere.

"Do not worry, I'll be fine. I earn this abuse from many people surprisingly. Now what do I owe for your humble arrival to my shop?" the blond asked and led them to the back room.

As they had walked in, the manager noticed the behaviors of his customers as odd. Sora seemed much more agitated towards everything, much like how Ichigo would act in this situation. As for Ichigo seemed quieter than normal and was noticeably calmer, unnervingly so. Urahara took a quick mental note and sat down with the trio.

Once settled, the story unfolded to Kisuke. According to the two of them the pill, once used, had exploded in a blast of light leaving the two teens alone in the park. But both didn't feel quite complete. And as much as he dreaded the thought, it was as if their hearts had different pieces put forcefully together.

"A bright light?" the manager asked. Both teens nodded in confirmation and wondered why the surprise. The ideas floating in the captain's mind slowly disappeared until one remained.

Hiding his face behind his hat's shadow and fan, he tried to look cheery.

"This is all so fascinating to me. Though don't be surprised with the results I'm about to tell you. It is after all a prototype invention I made. I should do a check up to make sure the two of you are really okay. Sora, you're up first! Please come over here," beckoned Urahara snapping his fan closed.

Not seeing a problem with the idea, he walked over a few steps towards the somewhat insane scientist before falling into a hidden hole.

"Eh?" Sora looked down to see a dust blowing around him.

"Ahhhhhhh!" the keyblade master yelled as he fell but was silenced by a soft "thud". Urahara looked down and smiled.

"So sorry Sora! Yell if you can hear me down there!" the inventor smiled in his cheerful tone and waited for an answer.

No response.

"Hmm, I didn't think it would knock him out, but I guess that would work too," he commented. His observation was rewarded and cuff to the head by Ichigo.

"What did you do that for?" Ichigo yelled.

"Why is it that when I get an idea, I always get hurt?" he complained and dabbed fake tears at the corner of his eyes.

"Answer my question!" the red head persisted.

But he was met by the rare serious look on Urahara's face. The fan covered part of his face, which only meant that this piece of news was either a big joke or a horrible revelation. Only a moment later, both shinigami felt the atmosphere around them thicken with spiritual pressure, all coming from the training grounds below.

"You see Ichigo, there are a few things I would like to discus with you without having to tell them to Hollow ears," Urahara said gravely as shade covered his eyes once more.

* * *

A brunette laid at Memory's Skyscraper while rain fell on him. His blue eyes opened to black pavement and heard the soft rain drops falling from the sky. Pushing himself up, he felt a wave of nostalgia crash upon him as the backgroundd brought back a few memories.

"I'm here… again?" Sora asked. The question was meant towards no one, but it was responded to anyway.

"So, you're the King of this world."

"Whose's there? Come out!" Startled, Sora shouted with a hint of worry in his voice.

"Heh, you kings are all the same." a bleached teen chided, resting his starch white sword on his shoulder. "And me? I'm _nobody_." the white creature gave a cruel smirk. "But tell me, Sora. Which are you? The King or the Horse?"

Sora stared at the teen, confused at what he saw. The man was Ichigo, or rather, a negative copy. His Hallow. He had saw him at the park, but how did he end up here?

"You going to stand all day? Or are you waiting for a invitation?" he sneered and brought his sword to a ready position. And the threatening stance snapped Sora out of his confutation, how ever he got here, it would have to wait.

Moments passed them as they sized each other up, standing still, as if the calm before a storm. And then suddenly, as thunder cracked, swords clashed causing sparks to fly into the night sky. Instinct took control of Sora as he blocked and dodged the rapid and random attacks the Hollow had. He fought like a berserker, jagged and swift, but also seemed to be carefully planning his moves at the same time.

The albino took a giant slash at Sora, but missed. Left wide open for attack Sora lunged but was blocked again. A counter from the older was dodged by a back flip and blocked in turn by a sudden overhead attack.

With almost no reaction time, the keyblade master brought his weapon to block and didn't think about the consequences it would bring.

There weapons brutally locked together in a clash. The enemy slid his hand up to the giant swords blade and whispered, "Getsuga Tensho."

As a bubble of energy appeared and enveloped Sora the Hollow disappeared to the top of one of the skyscrapers.

A maniacal laugh echoed around the hero of light's as he got up, wanting to continue the fight despite his condition.

'The battle only just started and I'm already hurt,' Sora thought now trying to plan some sort of strategy. The Hollow quietly dropped down to the pavement as he walked up to his opponent with a disappointed look.

"I was almost about to think that you and the wimp would be at the same level of strength. You may look alike, but he's obviously the stronger one." His golden eyes showed his displeasure.

"Who, who are you talking about?" the brunette asked in between pants. He was hoping to stall him just enough…

"_**So**__**strong**_ in fact," he continued on ignoring the question. "he could actually have become king himself! Hah! I knew he never had the instincts in him to overthrow the weaker part of him. He had the chance, but he didn't take it and let you stay as the weak king. Pathetic kid, and to think that the two of us had some kind of bond-thing going," the Hollow sneered and pointed his large sword at him.

Sora watched his feet get closer to him. He felt as his heart slow down to a normal pace. The bleeding in his wound was stopping because a spell he cast a few moments before. If only he took a few more steps…

"Listen here "_king_", I'm going to become the new king of this world. So just hand over the crown, or I'll take it by force," the albino took another step, bringing his sword to a threatening level towards Sora's throat.

'_Just wait another minute," _Sora thought.

"So, what's it going to be, 'King'?" he asked.

Sora took a deep breath and looked back at his opponent. His eyes showed his resolve and glowed a blue-tinted white with a spell.

"Thunder!" he screamed, then lightening cracked down from the sky in a flash, and although a weak spell it almost burnt the villain to a crisp. But unfortunately for Sora, the spell only made a hole in his shirt and pissed him off even more.

"All the same! You're all the same stubborn kings," the albino spat and charged once more.

Once again, Sora cast thunder but the Hollow saw it coming and dodged with his amazing speed. Swords met again, but neither lost strength.

"Fire!" A plume of flames ignited between them causing Ichigo's evil twin to move back.

"Heh, nice trick, you do parties too?" he joked and prepared for the next attack. Sora, on the other hand found that the Hollow's actions were confusing.

The Hallow was seriously fighting one second, and almost playing with him the next. Just how strong was his opponent? _"I__can't__figure__him__out__. __But__none__the__less__, __I__need__to__end__this__soon__.__"_Sora didn't know how much longer he could fend off the rapid on-slot of attacks.

"Hey! Don't zone out on me!" Ichigo's Hollow growled and charged into another attack. He twirled his sword by the chain and threw it at great speed.

The dodge was quickly made, but another strike was on its way. A wave of black energy was hurtled at Sora as he tried to move into a basic defensive stance. It directly hit him.

The pain was unbearable and caused the brunette to fall to his knees, eyes blurring from the shock. Thunder roared in the background as the villain of the battle slowly moved towards him. The scene played once more, only there was no choices to be made this time. The look-a-like smiled a wide grin as he saw the helpless teen trying to fight back all the pain.

The white sword of the albino was brought up to the heart of the warrior of destiny. He could feel the killing intent of the Hollow in front of him just by its sword. Inch by inch, it got closer and stopped when it reached skin.

"Any last words?" The pale twin asked, his grin widening as the keyblade wielder dizzily reached for his weapon.

"Nope, you're not getting this little toy," and he kicked it out of reach.

When Sora looked up, he knew he met his match. He was going to lose today, at the this battle, now.

"Looks like you're the horse now," he laughed and ended Soras suffering, sword now impaling his heart with a sharp pain that winded the boy. The last thing the hero of light saw was the dark malevolent eyes that the Hollow owned.

DIVIDER

Kairi set her back against the chair. Riku sighed in anger and disbelief towards himself. Neither wanted to admit the well known truth.

They were lost. Stranded in space with no other worlds nearby. Their radio had been crashed due to their frustration a while back so they had no way to contact anyone.

The two teens sat in the silence, trying to think of a plan or to relieved themselves from the stress. Ten minutes passed before one even said anything.

"We're lost," Riku admitted. Kari, deep in thought, didn't even hear the obvious truth. The silverette let out another deep sigh and began to think also.

The silence wasn't long though.

"You know, this is probably something Sora would do," she joked trying to lighten the mood. Riku looked up and smiled at her.

"Yeah, probably. You know him, always being the idiot getting into these kind of problems."

"What do you think he would do then?"

The question threw the older friend off for a second, but it didn't affect his thinking. He pondered on her words for a moment. He imagined the brunette in their position and the thought almost made him laugh.

"He'd probably just keep moving forward and think a world would magically appear," he replied and began to take hold of the wheel once gain with a new resolve within him. But before he could happily sail away, the princess asked a mood shattering question.

"Do you think we'll ever see him again?" she asked, feeling her newly depressed emotion about her lost friend. Her eyes looked down onto the floor and her hair slumped in front of her pale face.

But her friend laughed at her feelings.

"You know, I don't think Sora would want to see such a sad face. He's our friend and friends always meet again, no matter where they are. Our hearts are connected and they'll stay that way no matter what. So we'll find him, don't worry," Riku comforted. The princess smiled at the comment of her elder and remembered the times from their previous journeys when they had been separated.

Her hand held her charm she had made a while before hand on their first adventure. The shells looked as new as before and it still held the same hope and wishes from long ago.

She held it close to her heart and prayed to see their friend again.

"World located nearby," a robotic voice called from speakers above them.

The teens looked up and smiled at each other. The Sora Method had worked after all. Maybe he wasn't as much as an idiot they thought.

From their view, they could see that the world was already drenched darkness. But from their standpoint, it could still be saved.

The ship had turned a hard turn towards the safest and only landing point possible.

The older friend looked at his younger friend and asked, "Are you ready?"

With a nod, the two of them teleported to the dark world with new hope.

The area they landed in was a dense forest. It was night, but no signs of heartless activity was present. The keyblade wielders thought it might best to just stay put and wait until dawn. In this plan, both would be well rested and finish the mission sooner which meant finding Sora sooner.

A fire was started by Riku and followed by a quick diner. A occasional sound would reach their ears, but they sat in silence, thinking about their beloved friend and if he was fairing well. They knew he was alright by himself, but the thought of being separated from him broke their hearts.

But this time, it was in a literal sense.

Suddenly both teens fell to their knees as pain shot through their hearts. It came from nowhere, but as quick as it came it soon faded away, leaving a deep ache. It was Sora, they could feel it.

Once recovered, breathing heavily they looked at each other with distress in their eyes.

"What was that? D… do you think?" Riku asked.

"Maybe, but that would mean that he's…" Kairi could bear finishing the answer.

"Then it's wrong…"

"Sora can't be dead! He's not weak like that!" Kairi cried. At that moment, Riku had nothing to say. Even if his own heart wouldn't believe it, he had began to wonder if she was wrong about the fate of the friend. But one thing was for sure, they had to pick up there pace.

* * *

A boy laid silently on a building as if he was sleeping. He was actually awake, but he didn't feel like getting up. His face was seemingly glued to the side of the building, motionlessly waiting for something to happen to him. His messy gold locks covered his blue eyes.

"What am I doing?" he asked.

The clouds above him floated lethargically while the sun relentlessly shone rays onto his back. The winds were calm and it seemed to be a nice day.

"I should just fade away. Into the darkness, and maybe I can just figure out what I'm going to do with myself then," he muttered but remembered Kagetsu. He was back in a cage with only his thoughts to keep him company. But then he remembered his slaps in his head when he would get this way. Even the memory itself brought pain. Even if he was a hollow he was the closest thing he had to a friend in a long time.

"Who are you?"

The teen looked up to see an elderly man in front of him. He wore a dark cloak and yellow-tinted sunglasses. His hair was crazily blowing in the nonexistent wind somehow and seemed to not have been combed in years.

Not wanting to be rude to what seemed to be the whole population of the city, he sat up and introduced himself.

"Roxas, and you?" he responded casually but his voice still somewhat dull. If he was right with his guess, then he knew exactly where he was in this messed up "Wonderland".

"My name is Zangetsu, but I suppose the Hollow has already told you that," Zangetsu answered.

"How did-" Roxas got up hastily but stopped himself. He had recalled a conversation he and Kagetsu had while their stay in the real world.

/Flashback\\

"_Zangetsu knows all, sees all, and hears all from King. He's really smart too! He knows all about the real world and King's inner world. Except for the things I want to know about," the Hollow joked. He had begun explaining the basics of the World of Shinigami._

_Roxas stared at him with a confused look._

"_That's strange for a sword to know all of that. What, does Ichigo put like sticky notes on it or something?" he asked._

_Kagetsu laughed on of his true laughs. It wasn't hollow, but actually sounded like he was having fun._

"_I keep forgetting you're not from here or wherever here is to you. A shinigami's zanpakto has a spirit in it. Almost like it's a living person. That's why it's so important to communicate with it. Else, the sword won't be able to fight with you," he explained._

"_So it's like your Hollow's mask, right?" the ex-nobody referenced._

"_In basic term, I guess you could say that."_

/End Flashback\\

'_Then we must be Ichigo's inner world,' _Roxas concluded and stood up fully to take a better look around.

He noticed two things. Ichigo's favorite color had to be some shade of blue or something and his inner world was very messed up.

All this time, Roxas thought he was on a ceiling of a building, not actually on the building itself! It was sideways. In fact, everything was side ways. If he wanted to, he could probably reached for one of the clouds falling towards his direction.

Then he noticed the clouds. They were gathering into a dark blob of cotton. All of the sudden, the blond's fascination had disappeared as soon as a drop of water landed on his face.

"Um, Zangetsu, it doesn't really rain here, right?" Roxas asked nervously. He desperately hoped that Kagetsu was exaggerating about the rain like he did with most things.

"I'm afraid it does, young one. It rains quite often also. Here, buildings represents memory, weather is created by mood and Ichigo's thoughts made the-"

"Sky?" Roxas interrupted.

"How did you know?"

"Lucky guess," Roxas said. He didn't feel like telling the sword spirit that he thought his wielder was simple minded and the sky was clear near all the time.

More droplets fell and soon a steady fall of droplets fell. And seemed to have no intention of stoping, but being pelted with rain was not in Roxas's definition of pleasurable. That and it reminded him of things best left forgotten. He sat down again and tried to ignore the rain. The motion though, earned a laugh from Zangetsu.

"You remind me so much of the Hollow," he answered to the Nobody's confused look.

"Kagetsu," he corrected.

Zangetsu looked with curiosity.

"He prefers Kagetsu. I said it was dumb, but he kept it," Roxas muttered and closed his eyes.

Zangetsu blinked, but regain his composure. Maybe life could be more entertaining now that Roxas had arrived.


	4. Nursery Rhymes

Chapter 7: Nursery Rhymes

* * *

"Hollow? Sora isn't a Hollow. He's human!" Ichigo yelled in heavy frustration at the manager. His amber eyes glanced downwards towards the underground training desert. Evil reiatsu had began to leak out for some time since the shopkeeper had decided to drop the Keyblade master fifty-some meters down and it eerily reminded Ichigo of the reiatsu his Hollow possessed. Something was down there with Sora and he wanted to know what.

"I'm very sorry Ichigo, but from what you said, I can only guess that the pill didn't work as well as it was intended to. Please, understand and listen to me," the store manager pleaded.

The substitute had blocked all sounds from that point and was preparing to jump to his friend's aid. But before entering the training grounds, Urahara grabbed onto Ichigo's sleeve of his shirt.

With his eyes finally showing through the shade of his hat, Urahara warned, "Listen Ichigo, Sora isn't the same person you knew a few minutes ago. It's your Hollow that's controlling his body now. Your Hollow somehow used the pill against us and possessed our friend down there. He was smarter than I assumed he was and was at least ten steps ahead of us. It might just be wiser to just let Hollow Sora escape to Hueco Mundo on his own for now and see what he does from then on. We can retrieve him and get him back to his old self when we sort this mess out and figure out what to do."

The determined teen continued to block out the wisdom of the store keeper and pulled away from his grip. His hand pulled on his skull badge off and put it over his chest. The soul was brought out and the orange haired teen fell down with a soft thud and appeared in front of the possessed boy in a small cloud of dust.

Urahara from above was holding his fan to cover his face. His eyes wandered across the battle scene as he observed the two fighters. His mind calculated all outcomes this battle could come out with and then came with the likelihood of each result. The most likely made him darken his eyes once more, but it didn't stop him from watching. Within his thoughts, he prayed for the safety of his favorite customer and waited for everything to play out.

"Well, Ichigo, ain't this a strange meeting? We're both kings now. But I wonder, who's stronger?" "Sora" had his back turned to the Death God and thus didn't have any facial features visible. Though it was a well-known fact that he was smiling behind the stolen face. His hostile spiritual pressure slowly rose, showing that a battle was inevitable.

"What have you done with Sora?" the original king growled. His brought his sword and trusted partner into a fighting stance, preparing to bring back his friend from wherever he was.

"Sora? Do you mean the old pathetic King? I'm not too sure actually. Dead maybe?" the smirk the Hollow was producing could almost be seen despite not being able to see his face.

"You monster. I'll make you bring him back!" he roared and charged at him with Zangetsu, "Getsuga Tensho!"

"What? No death threats? No ten minute long speech on how you wanted to save your friend? And here I was hoping this fight would be more interesting Ichigo. At least you'll put up a better fight than the old King of this body!" he suddenly turned around and blocked that attack with a familiar weapon.

The silver metal gleamed in the artificial sunlight above and gold handle shined with great luster than Ichigo had ever seen before. Its new owner smiled in excitement at the new weapon in his hand.

"Well well, this is new. Looks like the Keyblade has found a new master also! Ain't that great, Ichigo? Now I bet I look even more like that weakling! I wonder if ya' have the guts to kill little poor me!"

Ichigo jumped away from his opponent in an attempt to gain more distance and from surprise. From afar, he really did looked like his old friend after removing the insane smile on his face. The picture was shattered thought as a mask began to grow quickly and before long, covered his face. The mask itself was divided in half in terms of colors. The left half of the mask was a very light grey while the other side was pure white. The left side's eye hole was pure white contrasting the background of it while the other one was black also contrasting the surrounding white.

Looking at his position, Ichigo knew that he wouldn't be able to kill him if there was a possibility that Sora would die also. Maybe if he-

"Tsk, tsk, Ichigo. You shouldn't daydream like that! Especially me as your opponent!" Without warning, the Hollow attacked him in super-human speed and managed to hit the target on the stomach. But due to the weapon's shape and bluntness, all it did was knock out the wind of the hero.

With another dash, the possessed Sora ran forward and brought the weapon to Ichigo's side. It pushed the shinigami away into another boulder, but caused no bloodshed to happen.

With a disgusted look, the Hollow tossed the weapon away and watched it disappeared into a shimmer of sparkles. The gloved hand tightened into a fist while the other hand was raised mid-way. His gold eyes watched as his old king struggled to stand up and fight.

Ichigo stabbed Zangetsu to the ground for support to get back on his feet. There was no doubt his opponent was stronger than he was, but that didn't mean he was going to lose this fight. His eyes glowed blue showing his resolve and determination to beat the Hollow.

"And now he decides to get serious. I have to say, King, you really do have bad timing for these things. Or is it just because you feel like you're going to lose to the new king," the new Keyblade wielder smirked. In front of his raised hand opened a gateway to distorted space. To the observer above, it was obvious what the next move was.

"I'll leave you for now. But when I come back, don't expect any more mercy from me. Seyonara, Ichigo." the Hollow spoke with complete honesty and left Ichigo lying on the ground in defeat. Once the fierce opponent left, the store keeper made his appearance with a light landing from the shop above. He crouched near the defeated teen and whispered, "Did you actually thought that you would win that battle?"

He received no answer. The red head's amber eyes were closed, as if he was meditating or in deep thought.

Urahara sighed and said to no one particular, "All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Sora's mind together again."

The artificial sun shined harshly on two Death Gods and left them in silence.

* * *

In the inner world of the number one guardian, rain poured from the sky as if it was trying beat the record of rainfall from the Noah's Ark story and Roxas hated it.

In the World That Never Was, weather was almost nonexistent. It rain scarcely, but when it did it rained long and hard. At least in that world, however, it was bearable. In the blue, sideways world, it rained quietly for the most part, but it rained almost all the time instead of a yearly coming the blond was used to. It would break every hour or so, but then start again harder than before.

What was worse was that it was so quiet other than the pitter-patter sound of the rain drops in this lonely world. Zangetsu had left the poor blond teen on the ground (window?) alone for some unknown reason after disappearing into paper bits. From what Roxas gathered, the sword spirit was probably off to help Ichigo in some battle. He wondered who was winning and who was fighting. What was going in the outside world?

The ex-nobody shifted in his lying position, contemplating these thoughts.

'_No wonder Kagetsu wanted out of this place. It's a mystery why carrot top didn't die from just being so depressing," _Roxas thought and felt the rain become softer. The sun came out and dried all the puddles off the building. The blond himself felt his clothes becoming drier also, as if it was magic.

And as if to add to the magic, Zangetsu appeared behind him. His whole being looked as if it was ripped apart like pieces of paper and came together magically. The old man took a deep breath, as if he was actually the age he looked. It was obvious he had just came from a battle and was worn out.

"Did Ichigo lose?" Roxas asked, still thinking about the outside world.

"That depends what part of Ichigo you are talking about. The Death God Ichigo lost to his Hollow you call Kagetsu. He somehow won possession of your other self's body," Zangetsu explained.

The final part of the explanation surprised the ex-Nobody. It made him feel weak. If gaining control of his other was so simple, why didn't he do it earlier? He didn't have to fear dying into nothingness anymore. He would have a heart. He could have friends and live like a normal person. And to think that Kagetsu was the first to take advantage of Sora's pacifist nature and weak fighting style.

"Tsk. If I would have thought of that earlier, I would have done that too," Roxas commented.

Zangetsu remained quiet.

The world was then shaken by strong spiritual pressure. In front of the two spirits was the landlord of the world himself. And judging by his face, it didn't look as if he was coming to say hello to the new tenant.

Blue eyes eyed the teen closely, but his resolve showed that he wasn't one bit worried or afraid of the Hollow's doppelganger. Quickly, Ichigo brought his sword from his back and into a fighting stance. Roxas refused to even sit up.

"Why are you here?" Ichigo asked.

"Jeez, calm down, will you? I'm not the one who swallowed the pill while me and Kagetsu were inches away from each other," Roxas retorted. _'Man__, __it's __too __easy __to mock__him__.__'_

_"_Give me an answer!"

"And what? Are you going to put me back into my stable?" Roxas asked.

By now, Roxas had begun to acknowledge that Ichigo wouldn't leave until he had given him a straight answer. But since being by himself and Zangetsu in the rain would be as much fun as watching grass grow, he decided to toy around with the King of the Blue Skyscraper World for a while.

"What do you mean? And who's Kagetsu?"

"Ask Mr. Shopkeeper. By the way, did you really get beat by Sora? I mean, by Kagetsu possessing Sora?" Roxas asked innocently. He knew he would hit a nerve with that question.

"It's none of your business!"

"I would think so. Sora is my other being, and I would like to know what's happening to him. I don't think you killed him. Nah, I think you lost and he just got away. I wonder what would happen if you and I fought," the blond mentally smiled at Ichigo's overprotective attitude.

In a quick flash step, Ichigo had his hand over the Sora twin's neck and was very close to choking him.

"Ichigo, wait. I think you should listen to what he has to say," Zangetsu warned, obviously trying to protect the blond spirit for some reason.

The substitute considered the warning and released his grip on Roxas's neck. It was then that Roxas realized that he had sounded so much like Kagetsu back there.

_'I guess this world can make anyone go crazy.' _Roxas thought.

"That guy is something," he whispered and stood up dusting himself off. The red head waited impatiently for his answer as he watched the unwelcomed tenant of his soul. He decided it wasn't a good idea to continue the taunting and talked with his normal, casual attitude.

"I'm Roxas. From what I remember, when you two used that green pill, Kagetsu switched places with me during the light show and thus merged us together with the wrong other," the blond explained.

"Who's Kagetsu?"

"Your Hollow. He didn't like the feeling of not having a name and made one for himself. It really isn't fair though. You made one for that doll and not for him? Not having a name isn't exactly fun for one. And two, just because people say its evil doesn't make it a nonliving being, now does it?" Roxas questioned. He knew all the cons and pros of not having a name or an identity.

Ichigo was silent.

"Anyway, that's the extent to my knowledge. I can't really see anything beyond the blue sky of this city. Whatever he's doing right now has nothing to do with me as far I know. I'm not part of his plot to do whatever he wants,"

Zangetsu stared at the two teens. He observed every movement in Ichigo. His wielder seemed to relax now that he was getting answers but still looked ready to kill at a moment's notice. This led to the old man beginning to wondered if Kagetsu and his master had met under these circumstances, would they have been this cooperative?

"So if you don't mind, I would really hate to be late for my hourly pelting of rain in here. If that's all, you can leave me and Zangetsu as we just get rained on," Roxas sighed and began to lay down as if he was resting on a beach.

Above the carrot top's head, dark clouds formed and did indeed look like it was going to rain.

With nothing else to say, and also stunned by what the Nobody had to say, Ichigo left. The minute he did, though, rain began to fall, as if it didn't want to hit on the world's king.

* * *

Riku honestly didn't know what to think. He thought long and hard about his naïve friend and the condition he might be in. After the short heart pain he experience, it was obvious that he wasn't okay. He might even be dead for all he knew. Nothing seemed to make sense anymore since the whole inner attack.

Kairi was worrying. She paced around the camp area, thinking about her childhood friend and what had happen to him to cause such a strange pain in her heart. Sora wasn't dead, she knew that for sure. But he still wasn't alive either. It didn't make sense to her, unless he landed in a world where only ghosts live and the living perish.

It was hours later when they finally surrendered to the voice crying to have them rest. The fire silently went out and they rested on the white sand. It was still dark out, but they decided that in this world, it was always night time seeing how the moon never left from its position in the sky.

When they awoke, they were still welcomed to the same moonlight from the last time they slept. Though this time, they were also greeted by four strange visitors. Though they were a few yards away, their conversation could still be heard.

"Hey, captain, I think something went wrong with the gate. I don't think this is Soul Society," the only female in the group observed.

"Yes, Captain Hitsugaya, I think she's right," the blond agreed.

"Something must have went wrong when we followed that Hell Butterfly. I wasn't even sure that was the same butterfly Soul Society sent for us," the smallest of the group hypothesized.

"What do you think Shuhei?" the strawberry blond asked, but received no answer. Instead, the black haired individual, who Riku and Kairi assumed was Shuhei, looked straight at their eavesdropping group.

When the rest of them took notice, they all prepared for an attack and brought out their swords.

"Who are you?" the shortest asked.

"Riku. And she's Kairi. Who are you?" Riku answered, trying to show that they didn't want to fight. It was obvious that the odd group in front of the Destiny Island residents didn't want to try and kill them, or else the black haired man and his groupmates would have done it already.

"It's none of your concern as of now. What are you doing here? This is a dangerous place for souls to be residing for any period of time. How long have you been here?" the white haired child asked impatiently. The group tensed as they heard the silverette's response.

"What do you mean it's none of our concern? You were just about to attack us a minute ago as if we were the bad guys! I think we have the right to know if we see anymore of you guys around ready to kill at a moment's notice," Riku argued.

"Captain, I think you should play fair. After all, they probably won't go peacefully unless we introduce ourselves," the woman suggested and walked joyfully up the sand dune.

"I'm Matsumoto Rangiku. The blond one is Kira Izuru. Next to him is Shuhei Hisagi. And the one who was just talking to you is my captain, Toshiro Hitsugaya," she introduced and winked.

Riku was silent, unable to accept the new information as the whole truth. They were still hiding something within their group. How did they get here and why were they here in the first place?

"So why are you here?" Kairi finally asked.

"Again, it's nothing for you to know. Now go to Soul Society like two good souls and forget you ever met us," Hitsugaya ordered.

"Captain Hitsugaya, I think you should be more gentle. They are just kids after all," Izuru said.

"_**Please**_**" **the so-called captain spat out, **"**Don't use that term as if they were just normal children. As far as we know, they might be servants for Aizen's tea parties!"

"We're not souls. Our bodies are still living. We're looking for a friend around here," Riku explained, obviously not taking a liking to the child captain.

The news slightly startled Hitsugaya and Rangiku as they glanced at each other. Hisagi still locked on the edge, not trusting what the two children had to say.

"Does you friend go by the name of Sora?" Hitsugaya asked seriously.

Kairi felt her legs losing strength as she heard her beloved friend's name.

"Yes! Is he alright? Where is he? Can you take us there?" the princess asked with hope, coming too close to the small child.

"As of now, we cannot. We are on a mission to recon this area for research for a few of our superiors. When we finish, we'll take you to him," Hitsugaya explained as he hid a faint blush of his face.

"Captain, that wasn't what were supposed to-" Izuru started but was interrupted by Matsumoto.

Riku saw the mistake made by the blond teen and quickly acted upon it. He brought out his Keyblade in an attacking stance and threateningly asked, "Where's Sora?"

Seeing the threat, the instincts of the soldiers were instantly sprung into action and brought out their swords in their stance. A couple were startled by the sudden appearance of the weapon but shook off all fear and once again brought out their weapons of choice.

Hisagi was the first to attack but was quickly blocked the sixteen year old's blade. Riku followed with a counterattack and knocked Hisagi off his feet. As he prepared for the finishing strike, his blade was deflected with the unusual blade of Kira.

It was now a battle against Izuru and Riku. Again and again, the two blades clashed and the silverette began to breath harder and harder again. The solemn eyes of the other opponent watched Riku's dark blade become slower and slower with every clash.

"Your sword is getting heavier. The next strike we make will be our last. Give up now, or else face a sad defeat," Kira calmly said.

Riku searched his face for weakness, but found none. He slowly retracted his sword in to wisps of darkness and watched as the blond's sword changed shape to a normal katana.

"Listen to us. We know Sora, and we are friends of him. We may not be on a recon mission, but we are on a very important mission that must not be shared while we are here where ears are eveyrwhere," Hitsugaya explained.

Riku relaxed, watching as the other officers sheath their swords.

"Now let's start from the beginning. I'll tell you all I know about your friend, as long as you tell us about yourselves, other than your names. Deal?" the child proposed and watched as the two teens nodded their heads in agreement.

Riku and Kairi sat down where they stood and began to share their stories of their two year adventure.

* * *

I am very sorry to everyone who has patiently waited for this story. I am hoping that now that I have found new inspiration I will continue this story. So cheers for me actually writing this chapter! Or throw pointy objects at me for taking this long.


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